1. Your goal is to ride three six-mile laps of the main loop. Each lap takes beginners about 30 minutes; Jordan suggests trying to bring it down to 20, so you can do three laps in an hour. Many races begin at the top of Cat’s Paw Hill, just north of the Central Park Boathouse at 72nd Street. Build up speed as you ride from 86th Street to 96th Street, the longest flat, straight part of the park.